Spokane Chess Club

Area Event Updates

Check out several events coming up in the next couple of months by clicking on the Area Events link above!

2008 Winter Championship (Jan. 24-Feb. 28)

Dave Meliti won the Winter Championship -- and then left town! Dave's six months in town, in which he participated in every event that he could, came to an end when he had to return to the Phoenix area to help care for his ailing father. Chris Copeland finished second with a 4.0 score and claimed the U/1600 prize. Kevin Korsmo and James Stripes (3.5) shared the best under 1800 prize, while Taylor Roberts and Ron Weyland (3.0) were best under 1400. Alton Blue scored the biggest upset with his first round victory.

SwissSys Standings. 2008 SWC: 2008SWC

#	Name	ID	Rtng	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Tot
1	David Meliti		1788	W15	W2	W3	W5	D4	4.5
2	Chris Copeland		1499	W13	L1	W11	W10	W9	4.0
3	Kevin Korsmo		1628	W11	W9	L1	W7	D5	3.5
4	James Stripes		1643	H---	D5	W6	W9	D1	3.5
5	Ryan Ackerman		1579	W7	D4	W10	L1	D3	3.0
6	Taylor Roberts		1357	H---	W8	L4	W13	Z10	3.0
7	Ron Weyland		1302	L5	W15	W8	L3	W12	3.0
8	Ben Blue		1283	H---	L6	L7	W15	W13	2.5
9	Alton Blue		1475	W16	L3	W12	L4	L2	2.0
10	Brad Bodie		1660	H---	W12	L5	L2	Z6	2.0
11	Ted Baker		1421	L3	W13	L2	L12	W15	2.0
12	Pat Kirlin		1291	W14	L10	L9	W11	L7	2.0
13	Jim Waugh		1264	L2	L11	W15	L6	L8	1.0
14	David B. Griffin		1563	L12	H---	H---	U---	U---	1.0
15	Charles Fishburn		1475	L1	L7	L13	L8	L11	0.0
16	John C. Julian		1992	L9	U---	U---	U---	U---	0.0

2007 Fall Championship

John Julian continues to reign as club champion, scoring a perfect 5-0 in the 2007 Fall Championship after defeating James Stripes in a final round match to finish a perfect 5-0. Second place went to Michael Cambareri and Alex Chow, each of whom finished 4-1. Alex defeated Taylor Coles in a battle of 3-1 scorers to join Michael in second place. They shared the best over 1600 prize.

The Julian-Stripes match was a thriller played until each contestant was down under three minutes on the clocks. Julian had an early exchange advantage that disappeared in a furious attack in a very complex position as the clocks wound down. As John had earlier, James missed some opportunities in the late-going with limited time to think and act. The game had the complete attention of all the remaining spectators.

The remaining games settled the other class prizes. Chris Copeland upended David Griffin and finished with 3.0 to tie Ryan Ackerman for the best over 1400 prize. The best over 1200 prize went to Taylor Coles and Taylor Roberts, both of whom also finished at 3.0. Jim Burney won the $50 under 1200 prize with a 2.5 score despite only playing 3 games! The biggest upset prize went to Ted Baker who won $25 for pulling off an upset victory over a player 437 points above him back in the first round.

The night of the 18th saw a lot of exciting chess. Michael Cambareri sacrificed a Queen against Ryan Ackerman and the two fought through a thrilling middlegame before Michael secured the win in the late-going. Another thrilling finish came in the game between Ben Blue and Jim Waugh. The old veteran was up material and time with a mate in three in the offing. Young Ben, down to less than a minute on the mechanical clock, managed to sac more material to set up a draw by repetition to save the half point.

The Club Championship began its five week run September 20. Always an event that features lots of upsets, it was bucking tradition with only one upset in each of the first two rounds. Then the lower-rated players struck with a vengeance in round three. Of the nine games completed on October 4 the lower rated player won or drew in seven of them. There were three draws and four upset victories to scramble the standings at the midpoint of the event. The fourth round saw two more upsets, but for the most part the higher rated players held their own.

SwissSys Standings. Fall07

#	Name	ID	Rtng	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Tot
1	John Julian	12688769	1991	W8	W5	W4	W2	W6	5.0
2	Michael Cambareri	12707145	1768	W9	W21	W6	L1	W7	4.0
3	Alex Chow	12910167	1653	H---	W12	D7	W18	W9	4.0
4	Zach Countryman	12904287	1735	W14	W10	L1	D7	W12	3.5
5	Chris Copeland	12758356	1541	W15	L1	D11	D8	W10	3.0
6	James Stripes	12677638	1655	W13	W17	L2	W16	L1	3.0
7	Ryan Ackerman	13432771	1577	W23	W11	D3	D4	L2	3.0
8	Taylor Roberts	12680456	1226	L1	W23	D10	D5	W16	3.0
9	Taylor Coles	13495091	1351	L2	W20	X18	W21	L3	3.0
10	David Griffin	12469398	1540	W16	L4	D8	W13	L5	2.5
11	Ted Baker	12936996	1265	W18	L7	D5	L12	W19	2.5
12	Ward Chow	13459322	1483	H---	L3	W19	W11	L4	2.5
13	Jim Waugh	12425667	1245	L6	W24	W21	L10	D14	2.5
14	Ben Blue	12751582	1303	L4	L16	X24	W17	D13	2.5
15	Jim Burney	12618452	1108	L5	H---	U---	W20	W21	2.5
16	Chad Coles	13495105	1002	L10	W14	W17	L6	L8	2.0
17	Ron Weyland	12657609	1463	W24	L6	L16	L14	D23	1.5
18	John Downes	12465306	1712	L11	W19	F9	L3	H---	1.5
19	Stan Shankman	12519213	unr.	H---	L18	L12	W23	L11	1.5
20	Vern Johnson	10513456	1140	L21	L9	W23	L15	H---	1.5
21	Alton Blue	12455852	1554	W20	L2	L13	L9	L15	1.0
22	David Blue	12796186	792	U---	U---	U---	W24	U---	1.0
23	Paul Ramer	12833608	1224	L7	L8	L20	L19	D17	0.5
24	Paul Martsin	13752818	684	L17	L13	F14	L22	H---	0.5

2007 Winter Championship

John Julian is once again the club's champion, winning the Winter Championship by defeating Alex Chow in their final round board one match. John finished the tourney with a 4.5 score. He won $70 and a year's membership in the Washington Chess Federation (WCF). Second place went to Zach Countryman and James Stripes, both of whom scored 4.0. They shared the best over 1500 section prize of $45. James won a year's membership in the WCF by virtue of his head-to-head victory over Alex.

The best under 1500 was decided when Ryan Ackerman defeated Ron Weyland to finish 3.0 and win the section by a full point. He won $45 and a year's membership in the Washington Chess Federation. Second place was a five-way tie with a 2.0 score winning $4.

Unlike usual, the event started with a quiet first round. Round 2 saw the first upsets of the 20 player tourney. Pat Kirlin defeated Ted Baker and Kevin Korsmo managed a draw with John Julian. Round 3 saw some more upsets, including old warhorse Jim Waugh upending Dave Griffin. Waugh, 77, seems to pull off at least one upset every tournament he enters -- and he plays every event the club sponsors! Round 4 saw the biggest upset when young David Blue bagged a player 619 points above him! David's victory won him the prize for the biggest upset -- a year's membership in the Washington Chess Federation

The cross table for the event:

SwissSys Standings. Fall Championship 2007

#	Name	ID	Rtng	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Tot
1	John Julian	12688769	1980	W12	D9	W5	W2	W4	4.5
2	James Stripes	12677638	1670	W11	W17	W3	L1	W9	4.0
3	Zach Countryman	12904287	1737	W13	W7	L2	W6	W10	4.0
4	Alex Chow	12910167	1632	W14	H---	W7	W9	L1	3.5
5	Kevin Baker	13488272	1613	W15	W20	L1	W11	H---	3.5
6	Alton Blue	12455852	1505	W20	L10	W8	L3	W16	3.0
7	Chris Copeland	12758356	1562	W18	L3	L4	W13	W11	3.0
8	Ryan Ackerman	13432771	1345	L9	W19	L6	W17	W12	3.0
9	Kevin Korsmo	10328357	1641	W8	D1	W10	L4	L2	2.5
10	John Downes	12465306	1715	H---	W6	L9	W12	L3	2.5
11	Jim Waugh	12425667	1384	L2	W15	W17	L5	L7	2.0
12	Ron Weyland	12657609	1447	L1	W18	W14	L10	L8	2.0
13	Ted Baker	12936996	1407	L3	L14	W18	L7	W20	2.0
14	Pat Kirlin	12631768	1290	L4	W13	L12	L18	W19	2.0
15	Annette Weyland	12663263	1198	L5	L11	W20	L16	W18	2.0
16	Ward Chow	13459322	1346	U---	U---	W19	W15	L6	2.0
17	Dave Griffin	12469398	1511	W19	L2	L11	L8	H---	1.5
18	David Blue	12796186	671	L7	L12	L13	W14	L15	1.0
19	Ray [Scott] Engelhard	13488266	640	L17	L8	L16	W20	L14	1.0
20	Joel Baker	13611874	unr.	L6	L5	L15	L19	L13	0.0

2006 Fall Championship

Phil Weyland is the new club champion, capturing the annual fall tournament with a 4.5 score. Second place went to Alex Chow with a score of 4.0. Third place was shared by Ben Blue, John Downes, Clint Fait, and James Stripes with 3.5 scores. They also accounted for the best u/1800, u/1600, and u/1400 prizes. Annette Weyland won the best u/1200 section and also had the two biggest upsets!

The cross table from this event:

SwissSys Wall Chart. 2006 Spokane Fall Championship: Open

#	Name/Rtng/ID	Cl/Gr	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5
1	Phil Weyland		W 16	B 11	W 6	B 4	W 2
	1894		1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.5
2	John Downes		bye	B 16	W 19	W 10	B 1
	1712		0.5	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.5
3	Kevin Korsmo		B 12	bye	W 8	B 19	W 17
	1698		0.0	0.5	1.5	1.5	2.5
4	Zach Countryman		W 13	B 9	W 15	W 1	B 5
	1659		1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
5	Alex Chow		B 14	W 15	W 12	B 9	W 4
	1653		1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0
6	James Stripes		W 17	B 12	B 1	W 11	B 15
	1647		1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.5
7	Kevin Baker		B 18	W 20	B 13	B 15	W 16
	1621		0.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0
8	David B. Griffin		W 19	bye	B 3	W 14	B 22
	1519		0.0	0.5	0.5	1.5	2.5
9	Ted Baker		W 23	W 4	B 14	W 5	B 10
	1504		1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
10	Clint Fait		W 22	B 19	W 18	B 2	W 9
	1426		1.0	1.5	2.5	2.5	3.5
11	Jose Pajarillo		B 20	W 1	B 17	B 6	W 19
	1408		1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.5
12	Alton Blue		W 3	W 6	B 5	B 17	W 23
	1398		1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0
13	Ward Chow		B 4	B 21	W 7	W 23	B 18
	1387		0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
14	Ron Weyland		W 5	B 22	W 9	B 8	B 21
	1381		0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0
15	Ben Blue		W 21	B 5	B 4	W 7	W 6
	1374		1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.5
16	Pat Kirlin		B 1	W 2	W 21	B 18	B 7
	1299		0.0	0.5	1.5	2.5	2.5
17	Jim Waugh		B 6	W 23	W 11	W 12	B 3
	1256		0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
18	Ryan Ackerman		W 7	bye	B 10	W 16	W 13
	1182		1.0	1.5	1.5	1.5	2.5
19	Annette Weyland		B 8	W 10	B 2	W 3	B 11
	1013		1.0	1.5	1.5	2.5	3.0
20	Peter Christiansen		W 11	B 7	bye	----	----
	902		0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.5
21	Ray Engelhard		B 15	W 13	B 16	B 22	W 14
	856		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
22	David Blue		B 10	W 14	B 23	W 21	W 8
	747		0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0
23	Jomell Pajarillo		B 9	B 17	W 22	B 13	B 12
	358		0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

2006 Winter Championship

John Julian added to his streak of recent club championships by besting the field in this year's winter championship tourney with a 4.5 score. He gave up only a last round draw with second seed Pat Herbers, who finished second at 4.0. Tying for third with 3.5 scores were Alex Chow and Dave Griffin, who shared the under 1700 prize, and John Downes. Vern Johnson won the under 1400 section and also scored the biggest upset victory of the tourney. In addition to cash prizes, all of the winners received subscriptions to Northwest Chess Magazine.

1	John Julian	W 11	B 6	W 3	B 2	W 7
	1996 12688769	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.5	4.5
2	Pat Herbers	B 7	W 8	B 10	W 1	B 5
	1948 10509092	1.0	2.0	2.5	3.0	4.0
3	John Downes	B 12	W 9	B 1	W 10	B 8
	1715 12465306	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.5
4	Kevin Korsmo	W 13	B 12	W 8	----	----
	1701 10328357	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
5	Brad Bodie	W 10	- 13	W 11	B 8	W 2
	1695 12609108	0.0	F0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
6	Zach Countryman	B 14	W 1	B 9	W 7	B 10
	1651 12904287	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
7	James Stripes	W 2	B 14	W 13	B 6	B 1
	1600 12677638	0.0	0.5	1.5	2.5	2.5
8	David Griffin	W 15	B 2	B 4	W 5	W 3
	1560 12469398	1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.5
9	Ron Weyland	B 16	B 3	W 6	W 14	B 11
	1540 12657609	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0
10	Alex Chow	B 5	W 15	W 2	B 3	W 6
	1503 12910167	1.0	2.0	2.5	2.5	3.5
11	Ted Baker	B 1	W 16	B 5	W 12	W 9
	1364 12936996	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
12	Alston T Blue	W 3	W 4	B 16	B 11	W 15
	1340 12455852	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0
13	Vern Johnson	B 4	- 5	B 7	W 17	B 14
	1301 10513456	1.0	X2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
14	Pat Kirlin	W 6	W 7	B 15	B 9	W 13
	1274 12631768	0.0	0.5	1.5	1.5	2.5
15	Jim Waugh	B 8	B 10